Hurling Championship Proposals are revealed

Published on Tuesday, June 13th, 2017 at 11:54 am

Munster Championship Hurling could be back in Walsh Park in 2018 for the first time since 1996 under proposals published by the GAA last week under a new three-year trial.
The new proposals would see the Munster and Leinster Championships played off on a round robin basis with five counties competing in both competitions.
Central Council is to discuss the proposals on June 17th and should Delegates from across the GAA world give the proposals the green light, a special congress will be called for later this year where counties would vote on the proposals.
Going on the 2017 championships in both provinces, Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford would compete in the Munster Championship with Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Offaly and Wexford competing in the Leinster Championship.
Each county under the new proposals would have two home and two away games, with the top two teams after five rounds of games in each province contesting the Provincial finals.
The winners of the Provincial Finals would advance to the All-Ireland semi finals with the runners up contesting the All-Ireland quarter finals where they would be joined by the third placed team in the two provincial championships, with the Provincial Qualifier winners also getting a chance to play in this section of the competition.
The bottom placed team in Leinster would play in the provincial qualifiers the following year and be replaced in the Leinster Championship by the provincial qualifier winner from the previous year.
However, if Kerry were to win the Provincial Qualifiers, they would play off against the bottom team in the Munster Round Robin competition, with the winner of that game playing in the Munster Championship the following year.
Based on the 2017 championship, under the new proposals Laois, Westmeath, Kerry, Antrim and Carlow would contest the Provincial Qualifiers in 2018. The winner of the Provincial Qualifiers on an alternative basis between Munster and Leinster would play the third placed team in each group to see who becomes the forth team to contest the All-Ireland quarter finals.
The bottom team in the Provincial Qualifiers would be relegated to the Christy Ring Cup competition the following year.
In under 20, the Munster Championship would remain as it is, while Galway along with any Ulster side considered strong enough would compete in the Leinster Championship. All-Ireland semi finals would be disposed off in this grade. Instead the Munster and Leinster winners would advance straight to an All-Ireland Final.
In Minor (under 17), the Provincial Championships would remain as is in Munster and Leinster, with the winners advancing to the All-Ireland Semi Finals. Galway and the Provincial Runners up would then contest a Round Robin Series with two of the three sides advancing to the All-Ireland semi finals. [Thomas Keane]